What does restar in Spanish mean?

What is the meaning of the word restar in Spanish? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use restar in Spanish.

The word restar in Spanish means play down, subtract, remain, return, undermine authority, downplay, there is still time left, take time away, make light of. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word restar

play down

verbo transitivo (quitar, rebajar) (importance, threat)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Los directores les restaron importancia a los problemas y ahora pagan las consecuencias.
Management played down the importance of the problems, and now they are paying the consequences.

subtract

verbo transitivo (Matemáticas: sustraer)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
Al restar el sustraendo del minuendo se obtiene la diferencia.
The difference is obtained by subtracting the subtrahend from the minuend.

remain

verbo intransitivo (quedar, faltar)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")
Pronostican lluvias para lo que resta del mes.
Rain is forecast for what remains of the month.

return

verbo transitivo (Deportes: devolver un saque)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
El Australiano restó el saque con mucha fuerza.
The Australian powerfully returned the serve.

undermine authority

(afectar la superioridad)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
La falta de firmeza del presidente le resta autoridad al gobierno.
ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. The corrupt president took away authority from members of the opposition party in positions of power.

downplay

(formal (quitar trascendencia)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")
María le restó importancia al problema. La dirección les restó importancia a las quejas de los empleados.
Maria downplayed the problem.

there is still time left

locución verbal (quedar tiempo)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
El atleta sufrió una caída en la carrera, pero aún restaba tiempo y podía recuperarse.
The athlete suffered a fall during the race, but there was still time left and he was able to recover.

take time away

locución verbal (quitar tiempo)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Las redes sociales restan tiempo de sueño a muchos adolescentes.
Social media takes sleep time away from many teenagers.

make light of

(tener en menos)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Pedro les restó valor a los comentarios de su compañero.
Pedro made light of his partner's comments.

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Do you know about Spanish

Spanish (español), also known as Castilla, is a language of the Iberian-Romance group of the Romance languages, and the 4th most common language in the world according to Some sources, while others list it as a 2nd or 3rd most common language. It is the mother tongue of about 352 million people, and is spoken by 417 million people when adding its speakers as a language. sub (estimated in 1999). Spanish and Portuguese have very similar grammar and vocabulary; The number of similar vocabulary of these two languages is up to 89%. Spanish is the primary language of 20 countries around the world. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Spanish is between 470 and 500 million, making it the second most widely spoken language in the world by number of native speakers.